


Half perfect

by MenaceFH (FrozenHeartbeat)



Series: SGAU backstories [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Neglect, Implied abuse, Intrusive Thoughts, Roman-centric, SGAU, What else to tag?, and twin logince at the end, i think..., minor panic attack?, some platonic royality - Freeform, with a tiny bit of platonic prinxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 08:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15578118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHeartbeat/pseuds/MenaceFH
Summary: “Logan.”Roman was putting up a red paper flower, discarding the masking tape into a plastic bag nearby. He took a few steps back to observe his work. ‘Seems about right…’ he muttered to himself, oblivious to the three students behind him.“Logan!” one of the students called louder, irritation creeps in their voice.Roman frowned when he finally heard the call. If he recalled correctly, Logan was not in this hall in the first place. ‘Could they…?’ he slowly turned around, eyes meeting with three different students.orThe wizards are setting up the hall for a hi-tea event. Should be easy, right?





	Half perfect

The school’s annual hi-tea event will be in the next few days. Not only the event is for the students and teachers to bond together, but the parents will also be around to evaluate, which explained why the teachers were busy making sure everything’s perfect. Most students volunteer to help, currently running around from place to place around each hall.

Roman and Virgil were at the main hall, making and hanging decorations all around. Handmade paper flowers almost everywhere.

“Logan.”

Roman was putting up a red paper flower, discarding the masking tape into a plastic bag nearby. He took a few steps back to observe his work. ‘Seems about right…’ he muttered to himself, oblivious to the three students behind him.

“Logan!” one of the students called louder, irritation creeps in their voice.

Roman frowned when he finally heard the call. If he recalled correctly, Logan was not in this hall in the first place. ‘Could they…?’ he slowly turned around, eyes meeting with three different students.

“Finally. We’ve been calling you for almost a minute.”

 _Yup, this again._ Roman let out a sigh. Can he really blame them? “I’m sorry, but you must have mistaken me for my twin.” He arranged his words carefully to appear polite despite the irritation inside. This is not the first time he was mistaken for Logan; especially these three wizards. “If you three really are looking for him, you can try looking in the other hall.” there was somehow sarcasm in his tone, but it was mostly faint anyway.

The three wizards were confused, one of them leaned forward to get a better look at the person in front of them. It took them a solid one minute for them to realize their mistake, the third wizard facepalmed himself with a hint of pink on his face. _They probably had noticed the same mistake, again._

“Oh my gosh, Roman!” the first said.

‘That’s me.’

“We’re so sorry, again.” The second nervously chuckled.

‘Yeah right.’

“It won’t happened again, we promised.”

‘We’ll see.’

With that simple apology, they leave the scene immediately. Virgil who has been watching from the start only rolled his eyes once they left, shaking his head in disapproval. “Well, that sucks.”

Roman only chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Well, I’m kinda used to it by now.”

 

Which is true. It has been even before they enrolled here anyway. They are identical twins to begin with, of course, they’ll appear exactly alike for the most part. That part, Roman doesn’t mind at all.

What Roman _do_ mind is how everything has always been about his brother. Logan has always been the center of attention in the family. Not only to their father and his side of the family, but almost every acquaintance that came to visit. _“Oh, I thought you were Logan for a moment there.”_ or, _“Will Logan be coming out of his room?”_ or they’ll just ignore him completely. Really, he’s _used to it_.

 

“Well, it still sucks. I mean, you two looked different.” Virgil defended. “Your birthmark placement, your hair; they’re different.”

“Says the person who took a month or two to finally spot the difference.” Roman laughed as he walked back, picking up another flower from the box. Virgil’s face heated up remembering the early year and turned away, receiving another laugh from the right-handed twin.

They both returned to their task, teasing each other back and forth while they can. They continued along the wall until they’re halfway through the hall, until a familiar voice called out for them.

Patton came running towards the duo, his hair, and shoulder covered in glitter. Virgil gave him a questioning look, and before he could ask anything, Patton waved it off. “Roman, I know you are currently busy, but can you help me with something at the art exhibition hall?” he asked, a little bit of panting between his words.

 _That’s new._ “Um… well,” Roman hesitated, glancing between the box on the floor and Virgil next to him. Virgil was quick to assure that everything was under control, gesturing him that he can go. Roman smiled relief. “Sure. Just give me a sec and I’ll be over, Padre.”

Patton beamed before leaving back to where he came from.

“Don’t call him that!” Virgil suddenly hissed once Patton was out of sight, Roman flinched in reflex. “He’s in the same age as us, don’t you think it’s weird to call him that?” he picked up a flower and turned to his back, facing the wall to carry on with his work.

Roman could sense something in Virgil’s tone; jealousy? Or was it pure irritation? Never mind, Roman mumbled a small apology before leaving Virgil on his own.

He had only started calling Patton padre recently. Padre which means father in Spanish. Honestly, Roman didn’t see anything wrong with calling that. He somehow finds comfort in calling him that, rather than his real father.

Roman muttered something under his breath as he made his way into the smaller hall, searching for Patton.

“Roman, over here!” Patton shouted from a corner, dropping the box he carried to the floor near a few unused easels. “Glad you could help. Logan left the hall minutes ago to do something else, and since you’re the only other creation wizard I know, I was hoping you could help me with something.” He explained, taking out a roll of streamer from the box.

Roman nodded along, “Oh, sure. I’ll see what I can do, Padre- Patton!” the nickname slipped involuntarily. He slapped a hand over his mouth, muffled his stammering. “I meant to say Patton. I’m sorry it sounded weird. I- I…”

“It’s okay if you want to call me that, Roman.”

Roman cut his rambling and lifted his head up, lowering his hand. His eyes searched for any discomfort in Patton. Instead, he met with something that made his stomach twisted.

“I don’t really mind the nickname, Roman. I mean, I must have done something to earn that call.” Patton said ever so kindly. “In fact, if you want, I can be like the father you never had!” he exclaimed, somehow sounded excited, and lifted an arm. “Well, maybe not as great as your real father, but I can try. You can call me dad- wait, that’s what padre meant, right?” he laughed sheepishly.

And Roman laughed along; hesitant, but full of relief. _‘No, Patton is nothing like father._ ’ He told himself, which would explain the extra nickname.

They eventually get to work, Roman trying his best to fulfill Patton’s request. Patton asked for something to hold the streamers temporarily; to see how it’ll look like before hanging it properly along with the ribbon bow a classmate had made. The ceilings were way higher than the main hall, and Patton couldn’t risk using his magic – his magic may be air and water but gravity is not in the list – and he’s running behind schedule.

And Roman could manage to create, “T- tuning forks with wings?” Other people would probably laugh by now, but Patton was quick to point out how they could use it; the forks will hold the thin streamers and brought it to the high ceilings under Roman’s control. Roman awed by Patton’s idea and it worked exactly like how Patton said.

They continued arranging, Patton humming happily as he decides which color to use. While Roman was half-listening, focusing more on controlling the weird looking forks. _‘If Logan was still around, what would he make?’_

 

 _“How come my creation looks nothing like yours?”_ Roman remembered pouting when he asked that to his twin.

 _“Why? It is your creation, is it not?”_ and unlike their father, Logan would answer patiently.

 _“I know that. But, father kept expecting an exact copy. He said something about keeping it similar and… stuff…”_ Twin should be similar in every possible way, right?

_“Even identical twins have different thumbprints, Ro.”_

 

“ROMAN!”

Roman snapped his head upwards, didn’t even realized how lost in thoughts he has been. He looked up, barely registering something darting his way before ducking back down to avoid it.

“What on earth was tha-”

“Roman, the fork!”

“The – what!?”

Roman dared himself to look back up, realizing how the tuning forks – still with streamers – was moving on its own, clashing with each other but doesn’t stop. The streamers were ripped with each clashed, bringing the shredded paper back to the ground.

“Do something!” Patton sounded, panic emerging in his voice.

Roman lifted his right hand, concentrating on dematerializing every fork he had conjured. Unfortunately, two slipped out of his control, darting to the other side of the hall.

The other students in the hall – who’d just noticed what was going on – screamed in panic at the incoming flying instrument, running around to avoid getting hit. The two forks split up, one knocking down every sculpture on display and paintings on the easels, while the other one ‘attacked’ the rest of the decorations.

Roman tried chasing it, but they were moving to fast. To his horror, both forks changed directions and were headed straight to –

“Sorceress Barbara! Watch out!”

The oblivious teacher turned around, letting out a shriek when the flying object towards her came to view. Instantly, she raised a hand in front of her and cast her sorcerer circle, disintegrating the forks to dust. “Is anybody hurt?” she asked in instinct, ignoring the big mess left behind.

The other students came out of hiding, gasping at what they saw. Every paper ornament shredded to pieces. Some sculptures crashed and shattered. The paintings and other art project were in disarray. And all their eyes fell on one person, standing in the middle of the mess.

“Roman!” one of the students yelled, heading towards Roman in anger, and for a second Roman could have sworn he heard his father’s voice among them. Patton was quick to stand next to him, wrapping his arms around him protectively; ready to defend.

The wizards all circled him and started to yell, scolding him about the mess. But Roman couldn’t hear any of their voice; not even Patton who’s next to him. He closed his eyes shut, covering both of his ears when he heard the familiar voice thundering among the crowd.

 

_“What, on earth, is wrong with you?! I gave you the freedom to roam the house, unlike your brother who is locked in the reading room, and this is what you did?”_

_“I-I’m sorry…”_ Roman squeaked, both in the past and in the present, shaking in fear.

_This is where it usually starts to get physical. This is where he’d usually receive new marks on his skin. This is where–_

 

“Now, now, there’s no need to argue about a small matter.” Sorceress Barbara interrupted, making her way to the middle of the crowd.

“Small matter???” the students disagreed. “Miss, he destroyed the hall!”

“Wow, that is a big word to use.” She mused, “But no, the hall is not that entirely destroyed.”

The teacher started to lecture, which gave time for Patton to help Roman calm down. He rubbed Roman’s back and whispered calming words into his ears. He even whispered the breathing exercise, guiding him patiently.

By the time Roman finally re-opened his eyes, Sorceress Barbara had already dismissed the group, saying something about cleaning up before dinner time. Once the wizards left, the teacher looked at the remaining two students in front of her, gesturing Patton to also leave to clean up his area.

Reluctantly, Patton obliged, loosening his embrace around the other. He mouthed a sad sorry before he left, leaving the sorceress and the wizard alone.

Roman was still shaking, but he’s glad he didn’t cry. He wanted to say something, but his voice was failing him.

“Now Roman, before you say anything, can you do me one favor?” she said, calm with no hint of anger in her tone. She flicked her wrist around, a stack of paper and a box of tapes appeared in Roman’s arms. “I want you to hang this notice around the school, to keep the school informed about the event. Take this as your punishment for now, okay?” she said kindly.

And Roman doesn’t complain. _‘That would mean less trouble anyway,’_ the voice in his head said. He slowly made his way out of the hall, ignoring the glare from the other students. Time to hang some papers in the hallway; this should be easy.

 

_“For once, can’t you be just like your twin?”_

 

Roman sighed after pasting the 10th paper, sliding the transparent glass door to close the notice board. He lifted his head, staring at his ~~pathetic~~ reflection. He raised his hand, tracing the mark on his left cheek.

 

_“You are nothing but Logan’s shadow. So act like one!”_

 

His eyes suddenly sting and he noticed a bead of unshed tears at the corner of his eyes. He quickly wiped it with the sleeve of his uniform, removing all evidence because _a warlock’s son doesn’t cry._

_“You should be lucky you can still see the light. If not, you probably won’t be here today.”_

 

He leaned forward until his forehead touched the glass door of the notice board, clutching to the side of his uniform until it might tear. He bit down his lower lip, concentrating his all to mute the voices in his head; both past and present-

“Roman?”

Roman jerked away from the glass and turned around, seeing his twin – Logan – a few steps away.

“I thought you were making paper flowers in the hall?” Logan asked, closing the distance between them.

“I-I was… Until one of the teachers asked me to hang this poster…” Roman trailed off, hesitantly pointing to the stack of papers on the floor. He looked back up, noticing something different about Logan. “Um, Lo. Whose glasses are you wearing?”

Logan blinked, one hand moving to touch the black rectangular glasses – with no lens – on his face. “Oh, it was Patton’s old glasses. He just received his new one earlier morning, so he, kind of gave his old one to me.” He explained, pushing the glasses upward slightly. “Also, I have decided to wear these from now on.”

“Huh? But why? You don’t have eyesight problems.” Roman pointed out. “What would father say if he finds out in, literally, the next few days?”

“While I’m aware that I don’t have any eyesight problem, I have removed the glasses earlier on and I couldn’t care less on what father’s input would be.” Logan’s bold statement and his hand movement almost made Roman laughed. “Besides, these glasses made me appear more intelligent, don’t you think?”

Roman only rolled his eyes, smirking over the remark. _‘You are the smart twin.’_

“Also, I am aware of how people kept mistaking us for each other–”

_‘No, they only look for you…’_

“–so, I was thinking, if I wore these, it’d be easier for the others to differ us.”

_‘Even if they can differ us, doesn’t mean they will–’_

“It’s, kind of sad, you know? When you’re worth so much more but no one can see that because of the stereotypes the adults have planted in the younger generation.”

The voice in his head finally stopped. Roman lifted his gaze to meet his twin’s eyes, a bit surprised to find a kind smile on that usual stoic face outside their dorm.

“My twin is such a talented person, it would be sad to hide those talents under a shadow. How about if I make a change, in order for him to shine?”

“…Lo?” Roman murmured, unsure on how he’s supposed to react.

Logan must have caught it from his frozen state, shaking his head in small motion. “How about if I help you with those papers?” he changed the topic, scratching the back of his neck. “The faster we get it done, the faster you’ll get to rest.” He finished, walking towards the stack.

“Uh- uh yeah! Sure!” Roman stammered, bending himself and hand the box of tape to Logan while he carried the papers. “All that’s left is the cafeteria and probably the hallway near our dorm.” He informed.

Logan nodded, turning around to the hallway behind him. “Well, let’s start with- oof!?” Logan almost yelped when he felt something attacked his back. He let out a sigh of relief when he noticed Roman’s arm around him, one hand holding the remaining papers.

“One moment, please?” Roman whispered from behind, hiding his face into Logan’s back. He breathed in, taking in the scent of, probably what smelled like paint from the art hall. A few seconds afterward he finally pulled away, letting out the air he had been holding. “Well, let’s go!” he chirped, skipping past his twin to take the lead to their next location.

 

_‘I will make you proud, I promise.’_


End file.
